Pakistan’s road and infrastructure condition has reached a breaking point. According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, over 5,000 fatalities occurred in 2021 from road accidents while the Asian Transport Observatory cites that pedestrians make up 41% of this total.
Their report also notes that only about 1% of roads meet minimum safety standards for pedestrians, and nearly all others fall dangerously short. Pakistan tragically ranks first in Asia for total road-accident deaths, and Karachi ranks fourth globally among cities for road fatality rates.
In 2024, Karachi recorded almost 9,000 road accidents resulting in 771 deaths and over 8,100 injuries. Everyday tragedies from over speeding trucks to crumbling roads afflict the city’s residents. Karimabad, a densely populated Karachi locality, provides a stark microcosm. The underpass project there, launched in June 2023, had only achieved around 30–35% progress by late 2024. Chronic delays have created bottlenecks, dust pollution, overflowing sewage, utility failures, and chaos for local merchants and residents.
Pakistan urgently requires systemic reforms: enforceable road safety laws, pedestrian centric design, urgent maintenance, and wholesale modernisation of ongoing projects. Only decisive national commitment can transform chaotic construction zones like Karimabad into corridors of safety and reclaim the people’s faith in infrastructure. Without this, Karachi and the nation will continue paying with lives.
Kainat Ahmed
Karach
